State of Israel

Pro-Israel advocacy with news and views.

Saturday, May 15, 2004

America’s Unspecial Relationship A cold look at the Saudis. (NR)
Until recently, the official position of the government of Saudi Arabia was that it remained unproven whether there were any Saudi citizens involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. They meant "unproven" not in the sense that anyone really doubted that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, but in the sense that the Saudis would really have preferred that no one take notice of that fact. The Saudi reaction to every terrorist attack against the U.S. to which the kingdom has had a connection in recent years has been a mixture of avoidance, dishonesty, and passive aggression.

Joseph’s Inheritance (NR)
For those familiar with the Bible, Shechem should ring a bell. It is the city where Joseph, son of Jacob (named Israel by God), was buried (Joshua 24:32) and where his tomb stands to this day. It is also the city where Levi and Simon, two other sons of Jacob, took vengeance for the rape of their sister Dina by a local chieftain, killing all the men of the city (Genesis 34). Despite its biblical identification with the city of Shechem, the modern city in the area is regularly referred to as Nablus in the general media. In that regard, Shechem is a symbol, a test case, of the subtle attempt, through the use of language, to disconnect Israel, the land, from the history of Israel, the nation.

Flunking with Flying Colors Failing the moral test of our times. (NR)
Palestine, in contrast, is a Potemkin democracy, with the sham facade of elections and republicanism but the dreary reality of an uninterrupted dictatorship since its inception under the Oslo accords. Arafat's initial election was rigged and the absence since then of a real opposition, parliamentary debate, and an independent judiciary proves that — along with the creation of a corrupt clique of hangers-on and often-murderous sycophants. The nature of the Palestinian Authority in and of itself lies at the heart of the entire crisis. Of course, there are sober and responsible leaders in Palestine, but they have no chance to come to the fore through a democratic and legitimate process.

Topple the House of Saud Worse than Saddam. (NR)
"Saudi Arabia supports our enemies and attacks our allies," Rand Corporation analyst Laurent Murawiec told the Defense Policy Board last July 10. "The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to cheerleader," he continued in remarks to this advisory panel of former elected officials and security experts. He blamed Riyadh for "a daily outpouring of virulent hatred against the U.S. from Saudi media, 'educational' institutions, clerics, officials — Saudis tell us one thing in private, do the contrary in reality."

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